Leeks are great for freezing, followed by cooking in winter. To do this, you need to do just a few actions. Read how to peel and freeze leeks in this guide.

Is it possible to freeze leek for the winter

Leeks can be frozen, like most other vegetables. This is a great addition for preparing soups and other dishes, which is especially true in the winter, when less vitamins enter the body. Most recipes use only the delicate white part of the onion, but the green tops are considered not very tasty, although you can freeze both.

Preparing a refrigerator or freezer before freezing

Given the duration of storage of frozen food, before the start of the season, the housewives wash the freezer. It is recommended to completely wash it twice a year, but since frozen fruits and vegetables can be deformed during defrosting, once it is put in order before the start of the next season. As a detergent, a solution of drinking soda is used (1 tbsp. Per 0.25 liters of water). After that, the chamber is wiped dry. Then it is turned on and only after half an hour, when the temperature stabilizes in it, you can load the products.

Important! Do not forget that onions have a specific smell. So that it does not affect other products, it is stored either in special containers or in sealed bags.

The optimum storage temperature is -18 ...- 20 ° С. If it seems to you that the camera does not hold the desired temperature, contact your model service center. This is better than detecting a breakdown when the camera is full of food. If you will store them in the freezer of the refrigerator, you need to consider that the temperature in it rarely exceeds –10 ° C. For her, the packaging is made smaller to ensure good freezing.

How to freeze leeks at home

Freezing of greens is possible in whole and in sliced ​​form. The basic recipe is that the raw materials are washed and carefully sorted, then stored in sealed bags and stored until use.

When freezing vegetables, some rules are followed. To prevent loss of color, taste and nutrients, vegetables blanch in boiling water for a short time. For onions, this time is no more than 1 minute. But this can not be done. They are then dried and packaged tightly to prevent contact with air.

When freezing, the water in fruits and vegetables expands, which leads to deformation of the cell walls, so onions are packaged so as to defrost only the portion that will be used immediately and do not expose the rest of the vegetables to warm air.

Important! Leek has a high content of folic acid, which is useful for women during pregnancy. The highest concentration of folate is in the white parts of the vegetable.

In general form

By freezing the whole onion (together with the stems), you can be guided by the same rules as for chopped raw materials:

1. Cut the roots and remove the sluggish leaves.
2. Rinse thoroughly and then dry with paper towels.
3. Allow stems to cool in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
4. Now pack them in plastic wrap and place them in containers.

In crushed form

For freezing, select fresh, dark green leaves and dense stems from the crop. The bulbs must be white and clean, without damage.

After that, do the following:

1. Wash leeks thoroughly to remove sand and small insects that might fall between its tight-fitting leaves. This is especially important because onions can be very contaminated due to rain or watering.
2. Dry the plants.
3. Trim the green leaves and chop the onion rings. You can cut small or large rings, it does not matter.
4. Fold the onions on a small chopping board and freeze them slightly in the freezer (for 15 minutes), then fold them into airtight containers. So you prevent the freezing of raw materials and it will be convenient to get it.

Did you know? Leek was popular in ancient Egyptian, Roman and Greek cuisines. And the Roman emperor Nero even gets the nickname "Porophagus", which meant "onion eater", because he in large quantities and believed that leek improves his singing data.

How long can I store onions frozen

It is believed that onions are well stored for 3 months. Then he begins to lose his aroma and taste, so you need to use it as soon as possible. A plastic film will prevent the loss of flavor and prevent the vegetable from losing its structure. At a temperature in the freezer of about -20 ° C, you can store onions for more than a year, but the quality of raw materials will still deteriorate, albeit very slowly.

How to defrost and use onions

Frozen leeks are great for stews, casseroles or cooking in a slow cooker, as well as sauces or meat pies. All these dishes can be prepared without thawing the onions to the end. It is enough to get the right amount and put it in the cooking dish. You can also thaw the vegetable at room temperature or dip the onion for several seconds in hot water. But do this if you need to preserve the thaw completely on a prescription.

Important! The fresher the onion before freezing, the more high-quality raw materials you will receive and the longer it can be stored.

Onion freezing is one of the easiest operations to harvest it for the winter. With its valuable nutritional and antioxidant properties and unique flavor, leeks have been part of the human diet for millennia.